Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-12-24

t'iNt TO- w l. Mus iftAStt1tA tAkN' w Z
ful c~onntenalice he saw its expressions.
change. Sometimes it became that of "a
liStls child, sweet and infantine; again 1t
Mtls tender and pitiful, then IL looked as
1t must haye done when he said, Come
10 me, all We we.lcy and heavy laden,
fhsn it was filled full of sorrow and nierci-
fui goodness, and then it grew stern and
alvfll.
Thea Peter Perkins noticed that there
was a1lIrong ever increasing and reach
ing far below them SO that the end of
them wa far out of sight, and these.
people came singly TO the foot of
Saviour and there laid a gift which was liz
stantly taken by the angels and laid upon
a ptsir of scales, which did not measure by
the weight of the gift itself, but the
motive which lay like a living heart in
side it. 4
Then Peter Perkins saw that all who
had not yet offered their gift had a bur-
den TO carry, large or small, and he sud-
denly became aware that the br rden fast
ened upon his own back was enormous
and was very heavy. But he turned to
the stranger and said: when will it be
my turne'f
when all of these shall nave passed. y
And he had to stand there with the
EiGttu utthioNsh NclEtlbt tlpl Jlo oIOuluClS
for long hours, or days, or years, he did
not know which, while all these people
anne by.
He noticed a man who staggered by
and laid a heavy weight of gold chalices
and church candlesticks and other en-
blems at his feet, and Peter Perkins saw
with surprise that they flew up in the ball
ance as If of air. Another offered q
church, which was as S much paper, and
then a poor old woman in rags staggered
along with n cup of cold water as her only
Offering. This sent the scales down, down,
as il ii weighed a ton, and then q pale,
thin man came and offered only a tear.
This, too, weighed heavier than gold.
Sometimes an cid broken toy, or some
old, worn garments, or even a crust Of
bread was laid at his feet, aud these, too,
were very heavy on those wonderful
scales.
Peter Perkins noticed, too, that those
whose gifts were light disappeared from
view, and he watched until he saw them
fall into space and fade away in distance,
while the angels sent plying chances after
them.
Suddenly the Saviour said:
aNow, Peter Perkins, what gift have
you brought to the Lord OH this his birth
day2,l
"Ohi l am willing to give you ali j
| have, but this bundle upon my back was
| not intended for you, but for the poor. IL
you will let me go back ] will return with
something more worthy Of YOU
But what have You in that bundle2n
"Only some flour, and meal. and sugar,
and ham, and rice, which are not quite
fresh and good. but i thought they would
do for the poor,a-
stAnd have you never heard of my
words, when I said: slnaslnuch as We do II
unto the least of these, my ckIidren, VI
do it unto mei' Look, that cup of water
was given by r sick and suffering woman
to ure who ssiissfferress @..af
tear was given from a pure heart that hae
nothing else to offer, but You, out of you
abundance, offer only that which is unfi
for food, and in offering that to the un
fortunate poor you have offered 1t to me-
IT did not knowl Oh, Please let me q
back and I will do differently
stA1asl You have lived youl life, ant
you must, like all that throng you hay,
seen, take your deeds with you to pleas
for or against you. You can return
more than they. All men bring thei
them here, and once they have com
naught can change. They must bear thei
fate. Some of them did not know but yol
had a mother who taught you Alright, blu
you forgot her words of wisdom or pu
them aside. So, now, go your way
And with these words Peter Perkin
felt himself falling into perditi5nt weight
ed down by the moldy flour and spoile'
bread and sugar. Down, down he went
faster than many others who were on th
way, and he cried out in his agony Q
fear, when suddenly with that cry b
awoke and sat mp in bed. This then ha
been a dreaml But it had opened hi
eyes, and he began to see things as h
never had done before. He remembers
his mothers teachings, and he slept n
more that night. Butas soon as dayligh
dawned he dressed and vent to the ster
where poor, faithful Mark, who had slave
ten years for him, wac packing thos
wretched things into the wagon.